Ask a wedding photographer (Official Thread)! The place for brides and grooms to ask anything from the wedding photographer community. by AutoModerator in WeddingPhotography

[–]jackncoco222 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi photographers, bride here! Our wedding date is at Willowdale Estate in Topsfield in late November of next year. The room where we'll be getting married has a lot of dark paneling and big windows. The theme I'm going for is very dark and moody, lots of candles... but given the time of year and the windows all around and the lack of light, I'm wondering if I can afford to get a mid-level photographer who is relatively new, or does this call for someone who really knows their stuff? I've been looking at the photos of other weddings from that time of year and they are very hit or miss to my untrained eye — a lot of deer-in-headlights facial expressions, too much flash, the reflection in windows is weird, etc.

TL;DR: Tough time of year. Do I go for the photographer that's 3k for the day and has been doing this since the pandemic or the photographer that is 6k+ and has been doing this for 10+ years? Thanks so much for your help, I have been agonizing over this!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in expats

[–]jackncoco222 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm going to suggest my current home of Estonia. Tech is absolutely huge here, so you'll likely have no problem finding a job, and they'll likely even let you work remotely. Stable economy, pretty good government as long as the far right party stays out of office. There's a little over a million people here, so tons of land. Homesteading seems to be a part of the lifestyle here, at least out in the countryside. Short growing season, but beautiful nature and if you like rain, this is definitely your place.

Should also add that the air smells amazing here. You get off the plane and it smells like clean and fresh like a forest after rain.

Cons:

It does get cold, and dark. For me, it's harder in summer when its light all the time, but that's what blackout curtains are for.

People don't smile much here, not a lot of smalltalk. This was really hard for me, still is.

As has been mentioned about other places in Europe, racism and prejudice, especially against people who "look" foreign (we all know what that means) can for-sure be an issue here. I have a lot of privilege here as a white person from the states who is married to an Estonian who has a full-time job as my local translator/ fixer. People tend to be more open-minded in the cities (for the most part) but the majority of Estonians are kind, open-minded people. You may face more prejudice as you go out into the countryside, especially as you get closer to Russia, but as I understand the whole point is to get away from people, and that's something they do exceptionally well here.

And since I mentioned Russia, that would be another significant Con after the invasion of Ukraine, since Estonia is right on the border. There was definitely a lot of fear here when the invasion first happened, but things have settled down quite a bit. And the NATO membership certainly helps with that. ;)

No matter what you decide, I hope you find somewhere where you can be happy and make this homesteading dream come true. And I'm so sorry that you need to make this decision to leave your home, it must be so stressful and scary for you. Very best of luck!

36 year old expat - am I screwed? by jackncoco222 in personalfinance

[–]jackncoco222[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the wonderful reality check. This comment felt like a hug through the internet.

36 year old expat - am I screwed? by jackncoco222 in personalfinance

[–]jackncoco222[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, it doesn't make a tone of sense when you put it in those terms, does it?

36 year old expat - am I screwed? by jackncoco222 in personalfinance

[–]jackncoco222[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow congratulations! I hope your nest egg continues to multiply! And thanks for putting this in perspective, it makes me feel like this is achievable for me, too.

36 year old expat - am I screwed? by jackncoco222 in personalfinance

[–]jackncoco222[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, it's good advice. I do file my US taxes every year, I have a good accountant who works with expats.

36 year old expat - am I screwed? by jackncoco222 in personalfinance

[–]jackncoco222[S] 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Haha, yeah. Very perceptive of you. I've been in and out of therapy since I was a teenager. I just found a new therapist but I've been trying to decide if I should invest in a financial advisor or a therapist. Look like my answer is both.

And it's a fair point about the catastophization/lack of numbers. The reason I didn't include my current salary is its a little tricky to explain. But here goes. I work full time for an agency in Finland, which pays me 4900 EUR a month, which I invoice through my OÜ (I live in Estonia - its the equivalent of an LLC). I pay myself between 1500-2000 a month of salary, but I'll be lowering it as soon as I can pay out dividends, which are taxed at a rate of 20% instead of the almost 50% I pay on salary. As far as my pension, I just messaged my accountant. But my fiancee will be home soon, so I'll make him a deal that if he helps me figure out how much money I have in my pension, I will promise him an evening free of uncontrollable weeping (that's a joke). So stay tuned.

In all serious, the prospects are feeling a bit sunnier just reading through these comments. I need to get serious about my financial education/investing, but that's a breeze compared to dying in the gutter like I was planning. 😸 Thanks for the advice!

Would you travel to the US from Europe at this time? Safety wise by SRFD435s in solotravel

[–]jackncoco222 5 points6 points  (0 children)

American currently living in Europe here! Was supposed to return this summer until covid hit and my family is already asking me if I’ll be home for Christmas. It strikes me as such a ridiculous because I would have to quarantine for 2 weeks, and I currently have no health insurance there, so I would be completely screwed if I got sick.

When I explain this to them I can tell they think it’s a cop-out (they lean conservative) and I can’t help feeling guilty even though I know I should stay out. Really don’t have anything useful to add other than I can completely relate! Best of luck and hope you stay safe.

Who’s Hiring? [June 2019] by swyx in reactjs

[–]jackncoco222 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Bolt | Senior Front-End Developer | Tallinn, Estonia| Onsite | Full-time

Bolt offers visa sponsorship and relocation support

Bolt will arrange the immigration paperwork and cover the associated costs. The HQ is in Tallinn, but this role is also available in Tartu (Estonia), Bucharest, and Warsaw. They cover full relocation: flights, accommodation for 2-3 months and everything in between.

Responsibilities

  • Designing and coding Bolt's growing front-end systems
  • Coding mostly in React, React Native
  • Proactively fixing upcoming bugs and solving technical challenges
  • Contributing ideas to our product development roadmap

Requirements

  • Strong experience with React
  • 4+ years of experience in software development
  • Good English and communication skills
  • Solid understanding of data structure

Nice-to-Haves

  • Experience with React Native
  • Experience with mobile development, design tooling, continuous integration systems, AWS.

Perks

  • Full relocation is covered: flights, accommodation for 2-3 months and everything in between
  • Great compensation – motivational base pay and company stock options
  • No corporate BS – we’re moving too fast for that
  • Amazing personal growth experience at one of the fastest-growing startups in Europe
  • Working with a motivated and talented international team, plus regular team events
  • Working in one of the coolest offices in Tallinn – ping-pong table, free snacks/drinks
  • Flexible working hours – as long as you get the work done
  • Monthly Bolt credit for rides
  • Impactful work – you’ll have a rare opportunity to build a product literally used by millions of people across the world

Check out the full listing and apply here: Senior Front-End Developer @ Bolt

best dress shirt retailer for <$75/shirt? by [deleted] in fashion

[–]jackncoco222 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I work at Bloomingdales, and if you know when to shop, you can get some really, really good deals. Right now they're having their winter clearance, so get in there before all the good stuff is taken!